House GOP will oust Sansom as speaker

House Republicans plan to caucus this evening in Tallahassee to name a new GOP leader under party rules -- the first move in an effort to permanently sever Sansom's grip on the speakership, according to numerous GOP legislators involved in the negotiations.

"Over the weekend, people have raised questions, and that made us stop and think," said Rep. Dean Cannon, a Winter Park Republican who is slated to be speaker in 2010 and was involved in the negotiations.

The leading candidate to permanently fill the office for the next two years remains Rep. Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, the speaker pro tem whom Sansom tapped Friday to temporarily fill in while Sansom's legal problems played out.

Sansom, a Destin Republican who only assumed the top job two months ago, is facing a grand-jury investigation as well as ethics complaints about his dealings with Northwest Florida State College.

Sansom accepted a $110,000-a-year job with the college on the same day he was sworn in as speaker, and it was later revealed he had steered more than $30 million in state construction dollars to the school in the past two years, including $6 million for an airport hangar that mirrored one sought by a political contributor.

Sansom made it plain Friday that he planned to step back into the job once the assorted investigations were complete. But rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties immediately questioned whether Sansom had the power under House rules to temporarily "recuse" himself and then take back power after his legal questions were resolved.

"Based upon my reading of our rules, it is not permitted and his action should be deemed either a nullity or a resignation necessitating an election for a replacement speaker," Waldman wrote.

On Sunday, Galvano released an opinion that recommended Republicans choose a new leader and elect a permanent speaker on the March 3 start of session.

And that likely spells the end of Sansom's tenure, although he will remain a House member.

"I believe that a formal election is in the best interest of the House and may be, in fact, required by our rules in order to assure compliance with the constitutional requirement that we select a permanent presiding officer," Galvano wrote, adding that he would not seek the post himself.

Some said the failure to place a permanent speaker in charge would disadvantage the House in negotiations with the Senate heading into a bleak budget situation this spring.

Others said the legal cloud could raise issues with whether bills the chamber passes would be defensible in court.

"There was a potential legal question and there was a political question," Cannon said. "I think this is a prudent step."